Head of EMEA Sales Enablement

Job content

Sophos Overview – Cybersecurity Evolved

Sophos evolves to meet every new challenge, protecting more than 400,000 organizations of all sizes in more than 150 countries from today’s most advanced cyberthreats. Powered by SophosLabs, our cloud-native and AI-enhanced solutions are able to adapt and evolve to secure endpoints and networks against never-before-seen cybercriminal tactics and techniques. Managed through our award-winning, cloud-based platform, Sophos Central, our best-of-breed products work together through our unique Synchronized Security system to share threat intelligence and respond to evolving threats. The Sophos suite of products secures networks and endpoints against automated and active-adversary breaches, ransomware, malware, exploits, data exfiltration, phishing, and more.

Head of EMEA Sales Enablement

As the Head of Sales Enablement for the EMEA region you’ll own the strategy and execution for the enablement programs in the region and manage the EMEA enablement team. Working closely with sales, enablement and marketing leadership you’ll develop and implement enablement plans for our internal sales teams and channel partners. You will be responsible for recruiting and managing your team to support onboarding and continuous education programs for all sales teams, driving the development and delivery of programs that include sales and partner onboarding, sales professional development, sales and launch readiness, and channel certification classes.

As a naturally inquisitive person you will use data and your ability to get close to your target audiences to gain a deep understanding of the needs of the region, using that knowledge to create plans that will successfully meet regional objectives. This position requires a thorough understanding of the business-to-business sales cycle, and the ability to use that knowledge to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of the sales teams and channel partners.

The successful candidate will be a trusted leader who’s track record of success in sales or sales enablement roles commands respect from senior management, sales leaders and salespeople. You’ll be at your best collaborating with others, an influential individual who naturally builds the relationships required to be effective, and a coach and mentor who enjoys helping people develop and succeed. You will enjoy finding new ways to solve problems and to help make learning accessible and engaging for salespeople wherever they may be, and you will thrive in a fast-paced environment. You will be an excellent communicator and organizer both within the sales organization, and across various departments that will support the execution of your plans. In addition to driving and executing regional enablement you will from time to time be responsible for the development and implementation of global programs.

Main Duties

• Identify enablement priorities with sales, marketing and enablement leadership and drive alignment on those priorities.
• Define the EMEA sales and channel enablement strategy and create plans with defined success metrics.
• Partner with the sales team as a mentor/coach to improve sales skills.
• Work with managers to assess sales staff and determine ongoing development needs.
• Execute an ongoing professional development program for all sales roles including Account Managers, Sales Development Reps and Sales Engineers.
• Identify and collaborate with learning and development vendors and consultants to implement effective enablement programs.
• Collaborate on the design of programs such as new hire onboarding and sales certification programs to optimise implementation and adoption in your region.
• Drive channel partner certification in line with the Sophos Partner Program, working with Channel Leaders to understand gaps and develop programs to fill them.
• Coordinate enablement activities for new product launches in your assigned territories, tailoring messaging, content, sales tools to drive regional engagement.
• Use a variety of training methodologies and techniques, create and deliver engaging enablement content virtually and in-person.
• Monitor and report on the overall effectiveness of enablement programs measuring the return of investment and impact on key business metrics.
• Play a key role in the development of the annual Sales Summits (Kick-Off) plans working with the Marketing, Sales, and Executive teams.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Previous experience in a Learning and Development, Sales Enablement, Direct Sales, Channel Account Management or Product Marketing role
• Strategic thinker who can transform vision into structured plans, actions, and metrics
• Strong record of managing Sales Enablement programs or Sales teams resulting in positive sales results
• Facilitating sales training programs and delivering training, both in-person and remotely
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with sales leadership and to build productive working relationships at senior levels
• Strong organizational and planning skills, able to progress quickly on multiple priorities in parallel
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, and polished presentation skills
• Able to articulate complex matters in a way that is easily understood by all types of audiences
• Excellent listener, able to continually gather and act on feedback to constantly improve programs
• Ability to see initiatives through to the end, while measuring results and adjusting plans as needed
• Ability to identify, influence and manage ad hoc teams without solid lines of authority

Desirable

• Previous working experience with a competitive vendor in the cybersecurity market
• Success working across multiple geographic regions
• Understanding of adult learning and instructional design lifecycle
• Ability to understand the impact of decisions on other areas of the business
• Capable of articulate the positioning and business value of Sophos portfolio

Equal Opportunities & Privacy

Sophos is committed to equality opportunity in all areas of its work. All qualified applicants will be treated in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law regardless of gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. If you choose to explore this opportunity, and subsequently share your CV or other personal details with Sophos, these details will be held by Sophos for 12 months in accordance with our Privacy Policy and used by our recruitment team to contact you regarding this or other relevant opportunities at Sophos. If you would like Sophos to delete or update your details at any time, please follow the steps set out in the Privacy Policy describing your individual rights. If you have any questions about Sophos’ data protection practices, please contact dataprotection@sophos.com.